The always interesting Chris Herring over at the Wall Street Journal — who for whatever reason I always think of as Chris Herren, the troubled former Fresno State star he bears absolutely no resemblance or connection to — thinks the Knicks ought to consider placing Ronnie Brewer back into the starting lineup, and chooses a perhaps surprising name for him to replace, Jason Kidd:

But instead of plugging in Brewer for Shumpert—who, even in the midst of trade rumors and the rehabbed knee, remains the team’s best on-ball defender—the Knicks might benefit by having Brewer replace Kidd.

Kidd, one of the game’s most accomplished point guards, has effectively served as a shooting guard since joining the Knicks. But he has shot 31.5% overall (23% from three-point range) in his last 14 games—down from 43% and 44%, respectively, before then.

Look at it this way. When either Felton or Anthony drives into the lane, the rest of the Knicks (save Chandler) become shooters. If Kidd can’t make jumpers at a higher rate than he has recently, the Knicks might as well take advantage of the defense that Brewer brings and hope he finds his shot.

Brian DiMenna

I’m not sure exactly how I feel about this one, though I definitely understand the thinking. If we’re going to watch both fellas clank their corner threes, perhaps it would be better if all those bricks were coming from the stouter defensive player. Then again, I’d still be leery of moving too far away from Kidd, who, God yes, has been all kinds of bad for a pretty decent stretch now, but who has also been such an important part of the team when they’ve been at their best this season that you’d have to be a touch reluctant to see his role diminished to an extreme.

I’m also given a little pause by the “hope he finds his shot” part of the equation when it comes to Brewer, as hope sort of seems to be his state of mind every time he’s hoisting one up.